Considering Prozac for my almost 8 year old

[Sunshine1966]

How many others know any good and/or bad affects of Prozac in children? I've been reading some online articles. Our psychiatrist says that she has research that has shown alot of positive things about it. We've tried ADHD medications, depakote, guanfacine and some things have worked for a while but nothing long term. She wants to try Prozac and I just want to have all my information correct. I'd like input from other parents who have had experiences with Prozac.

Thanks in advance!

Debbie

 

[BusynMember]

Do you know if he was exposed to drugs in utero (or alcohol?). I have adopted kids, one from foster care. They are complicated to treat.

Anyhow, Prozac was a nightmare for us. My teenage daughter tried to kill herself while on it and my son was a manic mess. You can try it, but keep an eye on him.

good luck!!

 

[Jena]

hi,

we tried prozac and didnt work for us either unfortunately. we were looking to address anxiety and sleep issues. Yet on it we had a completely different effect. She became manic and irritable and basically out of control. yet my child can't work with any anxiety medications such as ssri's or benzo's. even simple things like benadryl rev her up. it's hard to judge with kids, they are all so different. i'd say just monitor it for the first few days, our effect was immediate. we didnt' have to wait long.

good luck.

 

[barneysmom]

Hi Debbie,

We tried Prozac for gfg13 when he was acutely anxious, traumatized and depressed. It didn't help him. But that's not why I'm writing. I'm writing to tell you that he had bruising all over his arms. I had no idea why that was -- I thought it was because his nutrition wasn't that great because his overall mental health wasn't good. We had everything checked out physically. Then we went for a medication check and the psychiatrist said SSRI's have bruising as a side effect. I had no idea.

Anyway, if you put your little guy on Prozac and he starts bruising, you won't have to rack your brain about it like I did.

Good luck.

Jo

 

[Lothlorien]

No luck here, either. Missy was on it for about two weeks. It made her extremely hyper, impulsive and manic. Risperdal with Trileptal was our magic bullet, though we've had to make some recent adjustments.

 

[odd&adhd-family]

Glad to read this post on prozac effects, as I also was considering as an option, but not anymore. Thanks!

 

[PatriotsGirl]

I am a big fan of prozac!! It really worked beautifully for me and difficult child. It took the irritable and agitated feeling away and kind of makes you smile a lot. I gained weight from it and had other issues so I stopped taking it. But difficult child has no side effects (except maybe the bruising - she mentioned the other day that she bruises easily...hmmm). She is doing very well on it!! Every one sees the difference. We have had just one screaming match in over two weeks since she has ben on it. Compared to screaming matches non stop in our house, prozac is my savior.

 

[Blue Nude]

Prozac worked well for us for about a year, then the positive effects stopped and we switched to another SSRI. Carb cravings and some weight gain were side effects difficult child experienced.

 

[smallworld]

Debbie, I don't think you should make a weighty decision about a medication based on whether it worked or not for kids on this board. I think you should make your decision based on the advice of your child's psychiatrist and on what you feel is in the best interest of your child. Each child reacts differently, and what works for my child might not work for yours, and vice versa.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[flutterby]

Prozac is one of the few SSRI's FDA approved for use in children. There is a lot of trial and error with these medications and what works for one may not work for another. My daughter is currently on Prozac for her *intense* anxiety and it is working quite well. However, other SSRI's have either not worked at all or the side effects were too bad. Even in our own family line there is a difference: Lexapro works miracles for me, but doesn't do much for my daughter.

 

[tictoc]

Just wanted to add that one positive about Prozac is that it comes in a liquid form (with an INTENSE minty flavor...), so you can start with a very small dose and see how it goes.

 

[Sunshine1966]

Debbie, I don't think you should make a weighty decision about a medication based on whether it worked or not for kids on this board. I think you should make your decision based on the advice of your child's psychiatrist and on what you feel is in the best interest of your child. Each child reacts differently, and what works for my child might not work for yours, and vice versa.

Good luck with your decision.

I completely agree with you. I am just obviously curious as to what other's have experienced. Our appointment is tomorrow and I have many questions and concerns to raise. I will proceed with a lot of caution because I don't want to have my child be a guinea pig for medications that may or may not have worked for other children. It is very complicated and there is no easy answers for many of my questions!

Thanks so much for all of the info posted on here!

Debbie

 

[svengandhi]

My oldest son is now 20. He took liquid Prozac for about 6 months when he was 7 and in 2nd grade. He was, at that time, diagnosed with ADHD and PANDAS. He was later diagnosed with mild Asperger's. He was chewing on his shirts and wetting his pants in school, especially when he was involved in something that he was enjoying. He was also on Ritalin at the time. I took him off after 6 months because he stopped drooling into and chewing on his shirts and because his daytime wetting stopped. It continued at night till he was almost 17, but it's done finally. I found Prozac to be very helpful for him. As I said, he is now 20 and doesn't have any long term consequences from it that I know of.

Good luck.